• cynar@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    It could, though, when worn properly, chainmail was always worn over padding. The chain mail blocks piercing attacks, while the padding dealt with concussive forces. An arrow, or sword, has significant amounts of both. Blocking 1 alone wasn’t enough.

    Basically, it shouldn’t be an issue, other than getting hot in the padding. If you’re going for a stylish look, use flexible material. Loose weave metallic fabrics give a similar (superficial) look, but don’t pinch.

    • Killing_Spark@feddit.de
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      3 months ago

      Chainmail blocks slicing attacks. It’s not that great protection against piercing attacks right?

      • Gabu@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        That is correct. Piercing attacks is how you break chainmail to expose weak spots.

        • TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          It still provides good protection, as breaking links isn’t easy. Most materials protect against slices; even a single layer of cloth helps. Slices suck against armor in comparison to other attacks. Weapons that slice also often hack well(heavier along the width and curved) or pierce well(narrower towards the pointy tip and straight).

      • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net
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        3 months ago

        Mine would be especially bad against piercing attacks I think, due to being butted rings rather than riveted (see one of my comments above for images of what that means.)

    • AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net
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      3 months ago

      This person is very right, the padding would be essential for this when used as armour. Especially as more significant than pinching was the temperature of the metal — it was a long Summer night where I wore it first and it was very cold by the end. There was a bonfire to help people stay warm and I needed to be mindful to not go too close. A similar but less intense temperature issue happened due to the sun on a hot day. It wasn’t too bad, but definitely highlighted the usefulness of padding if wearing it as armour.

      Small note on practicality - the maille itself wasn’t shaped for my figure, it was just generic and sized to my (fairly broad) shoulders. As well as padding, belting it well is also essential, because it helps to distribute the weight. In the pic, I did that with an under bust corset (which worked way better than it had any right to), but I want to highlight the functional purpose of the corset - without that or a belt, it was way too heavy on my shoulders